The Week That Was…

Published 8:00 pm, Wednesday, September 23, 2009

These are just a few of my thoughts on what has transpired at the state and national levels in sports during the past week.

MichiganMarvel…

…It’s a proven fact that a football program under Rich Rodriguez shows drastic improvement from the first year to the second.

I admit, I wasn’t buying into this heading into the 2009 season.

Like many others, I thought Rodriguez had turned the program into an unmitigated disaster following the 3-9 debacle of 2008.

So far, even the most skeptical Michigan fan has to give Rich Rod credit.

After a lackluster first half against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, the Wolverines turned it on to pull away for a 45-17 win.

In the process, they matched last year’s win total — and have an excellent chance of improving to 4-0 with Indiana coming in this weekend. Michigan has won 15 in a row against Indiana and hasn’t lost one to the Hoosiers since 1987.

We’ll know exactly how improved this team is when it travels to East Lansing next week.

Perhaps the biggest difference from last year to this year is how efficient the offense is being executed. Rich Rod’s offense is designed to be fast-paced to keep defenses from adjusting.

So far, so good, as the Wolverines average about 20 seconds per play. It starts with quarterback Tate Forcier, who for a true freshman has an amazing grasp for running it.

Most people associate a fast-paced offense with gaudy passing numbers. That wasn’t the case for the Wolverines on Saturday. Forcier completed only 7-of-13 passes for 68 yards, but the team ran for 380 yards, including 187 from Carlos Brown.

Michigan’s other freshman quarterback, Denard Robinson, made the most of his limited playing time with three runs for 60 yards and a pair of scores. Rich Rod has to find a way to get Robinson on the field more. He’s one of the fastest players in the country — and you can’t have that kind of speed standing with a clipboard.

There’s a long way to go, plenty of tough games, but to match last season’s win total in just three games is something for Michigan fans to rally around.

Five points…

…That’s what separates Michigan State from being 3-0 instead of its actual record of 1-2.

For that reason, I would tell Sparty Nation not to panic.

I, along with many others, thought the Spartans were going to get trounced in South Bend on Saturday.

Instead, they put up a very good fight coming off a devastating loss to Central Michigan.

Everyone will remember quarterback Kirk Cousins’ pick that sealed the win for the Irish. What they should remember is Cousins, to that point, played pretty well. He completed 23-of-35 for 302 yards.

Cousins also leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency.

Right now, MSU is actually a victim of its schedule — and it doesn’t get any easier in the next two weeks.

The Spartans travel to play Wisconsin this week before returning home to host surprising Michigan. They haven’t won in Madison since 2001 and have lost four of their last five to the Badgers.

As for the game with the Wolverines, it’s tough to say how that one will go. We know Michigan is improved, but how will the players handle their first road game of the season against a rival no less?

Even if MSU does fall to 1-4, the rest of the schedule at least gets a little easier. Following Michigan, the Spartans are at Illinois (1-1), vs. Northwestern (2-1), vs. Iowa (3-0), at Minnesota (2-1), vs. Western Michigan (1-2), at Purdue (1-2) and vs. Penn State (3-0).

It’s a rough start so far, but it’s not time to panic.

Getting there…

…The Lions are 0-2, and have lost 19 straight games, but there have been positives so far.

They actually led the Vikings, 10-7, at the half on Sunday and played them tough the entire way.

The problem, like so many losing teams, is consistency. For spurts, Detroit looks like a professional football team. But then the team reverts back to its losing ways.

Credit to coach Jim Schwartz, he’s changing the culture, but it doesn’t happen over night.

The Lions drew a brutal schedule this season. They have their best chance to snap their streak on Sunday when they host the Redskins. Washington has been anything but sharp at 1-1.

There’s no doubt this is a game Detroit can win, and I’m sure the players know it. If it’s not this week, forget about the next three (at Chicago, vs. Pittsburgh, at Green Bay).

Following the bye in Week 7, the game that could snap the streak is Nov. 1 vs. St. Louis. The Rams are perhaps worse than the Lions, and could actually challenge for that 0-16 season, as well. In two games, they have mustered just seven points.

Whether the streak is snapped this week or in the weeks to come, anyone wanting to see it better be in attendance at Ford Field.

Last week’s game was nearly blacked out. Sunday’s game with the Redskins seems like a lock as there are nearly 10,000 tickets still available. The NFL is standing firm on its blackout policy, so you better have a good satellite provider or live out of the blackout zone to see the team.

Two factors are playing into the Lions being blacked out.

One, they are one of the worst teams in the NFL. But more importantly, Detroit has been one of the cities hit the hardest by the terrible economy.

NFL tickets average $74.99. That’s a pretty steep investment for a team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2000.

The race is one…

…Just when it looked like there wouldn’t be a real pennant race in baseball, the Tigers and Twins stepped up and gave us one. With 11 games remaining, Detroit leads Minnesota by just 2 1/2 games in the American League Central. The lead is down from the comfortable seven games it was at after an important road sweep of the Rays earlier this month.

In true Tiger fashion, nothing was going to be that easy.

Detroitfinishes up a series with the Indians tonight before staying on the road for three at Chicago. The Twins begin a three-game set with Kansas City on Friday.

Then comes the showdown, a four game series to likely determine who goes to the playoffs and who starts making tee times. It’s advantage Tigers, as the series will be played at Comerica Park, where the team has the third-best record in the American League at 48-26.

For the Tigers and Twins, the playoffs officially begin on Monday.

Two years for Burress…

…Former Giants receiver Plaxico Burress picked the wrong state and wrong city to shoot himself in the leg with an unlicensed gun.

This week, Burress agreed to serve two years in prison on criminal possession of a weapon. It could have been 3 1/2 years had Burress went to trial, but he smartly accepted the two-year sentence.

Two years seems like a stiff penalty for shooting yourself in the leg, but New York wanted to make an example out of Burress. New York has some of the toughest guns laws in the country, and it showed nobody is above them.

Burress will attempt to resume his NFL career when he gets out, but he will be 34 by then, and out of the league for over three years.

Even with his physical talent, it’s unlikely he can recapture what he once had. It’s a heavy price to pay, but something that others will hopefully learn from.

Paul P. Adams is a sports writer for the Huron Daily Tribune and can be reached at (989) 269-6464 ext. 112 or at padams@hearstnp.com.